Date & Time
International Workshop -Hybrid Event
Politics and International Relations (PIR)
Mirror Games? Russian and US Illiberalism in the Trump Era
At the end of the Cold War, liberal democracy was in the ascendant, and comparing illiberalism in Russia in the US would have appeared fanciful in the extreme. No longer.
Russia’s 2022 war in Ukraine is the culmination of decades of democratic retrenchment and has been given momentum by a variety of domestic conservative, nationalist and/or militaristic forces. In the meantime, Russia has emerged as a leading force of global illiberal counter-hegemony.
But the US has not been immune to such pressures, with its own domestic illiberal forces gaining greater ascendancy, while enjoying succor and (real or alleged) support from Putin’s Kremlin. American ‘democratic institutions have suffered erosion, as reflected in rising political polarization and extremism [and] partisan pressure on the electoral process.’
So, comparison between Russia and US illiberalism has more rationale than ever.
Priority areas for analysis are:
1) the comparison of intellectual/grassroots/policy illiberalism in each country
2) their interaction, dialogue, borrowing, competition, and transnational connections.
